Sunday, March 8, 2009

5 Cafe Books with a Cuppa (cup of) Coffee

I love going to coffee shops. I like to relax in them whether alone or with friends. Most activity I like beside get my labtop on, it is reading. Yes, you need good books. Here is my personal picks for you.

The story tells of the two childhood friends Amir and Hassan. Amir is the wealthy son of a very important figure in Afghanista, while Hassan is thier 'Hazara' servant, and the son of Ali, thier long time servant.

Amir is an insecure person, someone who's always pushed around and bullied by other kids, and always defended by his all time friend, Hassan, who sticks out for him no matter what. Amir always felt that his father hates him, and was always hoping and wishing for his father's love and approval, no matter what the costs are. Eventually, Amir's 'way' of getting his father's love works out, on the expense of his loyal friend Hassan. The outcome of Amir's action lands Hassan out of the house, and Amir in a continuent guilt.

After the soviet invasion to Afghanistan, Amir and his father flee to America, on a search for a new life. But one phone call, after almost 25 years from leaving Afghanistan, leads Amir back to his childhood place, and gives him yet another chance to reconcile with the past, and make up for his mistake towards Hassan, the mistake that, on the long run, led to Hassan's murder.

The story is heart-breaking, it literally made me cry. I can promise you, after you read this book, your heart will skip a beat everytime you see a kite in the sky.

With the precision of a surgeon, Peter Stamm cuts to the heart of the fragile and revealing moments of everyday life. They are bankers, students, mothers, or retirees. They live in New York City or somewhere in Switzerland, they work in London or Riga, they cross paths in a Fado bar in Lisbon. They breathe the banal routine of daily life. It is to these ordinary people that Peter Stamm grants center stage in his latest collection of short stories. Henry, a cowherd turned stuntman, crisscrosses the country, dreaming of meeting a woman. Inger, the Dane, refuses her skimpy life and takes off for Italy. Regina, so lonely in her big house since her children left and her husband passed away, discovers the world anew thanks to the Australian friend of her granddaughter, who helps Regina envision her next voyage.

In these stories, Stamm's clean style expresses despair without flash, through softness and small gestures, with disarming retorts full of derision and infinite tenderness. There, where life hesitates, ready to tip over--with nothing yet played out--is where these people and their stories exist. For us, they all become exceptional.

It's migration time and as a mother gull dives into the water to catch a herring she's caught in an oil slick! Thinking of the egg she is about to lay she manages to extract herself and fly to the nearest port. Exhausted, she lands on a balcony where Zorba the cat is sunning himself. Zorba wants to get help, but the gull knows it's too late and she extracts three promises from him: 1) That he won't eat the egg, 2) that he'll take care of the chick until it hatches, and 3) that he'll teach it to fly. The first two are hard enough, but the third one is surely impossible. Isn't it?

There are many different kinds of families, but this is the story of one of the strangest and most wonderful ones I’ve ever met!

Let's sharpen your business skill a bit, I think this book would help This book explains 5 simple principles that will help each of us reach or goals and dreams. The 5 principles are listed and described here as The Law of Value, The Law of Compensation, The Law of Influence, The Law of Authenticity and lastly the Law of Receptivity.

Once you start reading it you will not want to put it down till you have finished the whole book. So make sure you have the time to read it.

If there’s a business book related to Starbucks, I just have to pick it up and usually wind up going through it as quickly as one of my favorite cappuccino's. This book is the result of an 18 month study of what makes Starbucks work by the author. This book will give you some aspect through their 'partners' training. Firstly Make it Your Own, Everything Matters, Surprise and Delight, Embrace Resistance and Leave your Mark.

Personally I love this book and I like Starbucks business concept. However, in this period of time with economic crisis. It would be real challenge for Starbucks.